This Obscure Gas Improves Athletes' Performance — And It's Legal For Now

XENON is one of the shyest members of the periodic table of the
elements. Chemically, it is almost inert, and physically, it
makes up only 0.000009% of the atmosphere, so it is not
surprising that it was among the last of the naturally occurring
elements to be identified, in 1898. Biologically, however, it is
not shy at all. In some countries, notably Russia, it is used as
an anaesthetic. It is also known to protect body tissues from the
effects of low temperatures, lack of oxygen and even physical
trauma. In particular, it increases levels of erythropoietin,
also known as EPO, a hormone that encourages the formation of red
blood cells.

Xenon's protective and EPO-boosting properties mean it is being
investigated as a treatment for babies whose brains have
accidentally been starved of oxygen during birth, and of adults
who have had heart attacks. But it is also, in Russia, being used
as a way to improve athletic performance.

Xenon works its magic by activating production of a protein
called Hif-1 alpha. This acts as a transcription factor: a
chemical switch that turns on production of a variety of other
proteins, one of which is EPO. Artificially raising levels of
EPO, by injecting synthetic versions of the hormone or by taking
so-called Hif stabilisers (drugs that discourage the breakdown of
Hif-1 alpha), is illegal under the rules of the World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA). Other methods of boosting the hormone, however,
are permissible--and that fact has not gone unnoticed by the
Russian sports authorities. Athletes are allowed to live or train
at altitude, or sleep in a low-oxygen tent, in order to stimulate
red-cell production. If xenon treatment is merely replicating
low-oxygen environments by replacing oxygen with xenon, then its
use to enhance athletic performance is permissible.

The use of xenon by athletes certainly has government blessing. A
document produced in 2010 by the State Research Institute of the
Ministry of Defence sets out guidelines for the administration of
the gas to athletes. It advises using it before competitions to
correct listlessness and sleep disruption, and afterwards to
improve physical recovery. The recommended dose is a 50:50
mixture of xenon and oxygen, inhaled for a few minutes, ideally
before going to bed. The gas's action, the manual states,
continues for 48-72 hours, so repeating every few days is a good
idea. And for last-minute jitters, a quick hit an hour before the
starting gun can help.

The benefits, the manual suggests, include increasing heart and
lung capacity, preventing muscle fatigue, boosting testosterone
and improving an athlete's mood. Similar benefits have been noted
in papers in Russian scientific journals, and in conference
presentations describing tests of xenon on mountain climbers,
paddlers, soldiers and pilots.

And the gas appears to have been used in past Olympics. The
website of Atom Medical Centre, a Russian medical-xenon producer,
cites national honours the company received for its efforts in
preparing athletes for the 2004 summer Olympics and the 2006
winter games.

Something the published Russian reports do not go into, however,
are measurements of EPO or Hif-1 alpha. Yet animal studies
elsewhere have demonstrated xenon's dramatic effects on both. One
such, carried out in 2009 by Mervyn Maze at Imperial College,
London, found that exposing mice to a mixture of 70% xenon and
30% oxygen for two hours more than doubled the animals' EPO
levels a day later. Another, by Xiaoqiang Ding of Fudan
University in Shanghai, found that Hif-1 alpha levels in mice
stayed high for up to 48 hours after treatment. By contrast, mice
put in a low-oxygen enclosure saw an EPO increase that lasted
less than two hours.

Similar physiological effects may take place in people. In
healthy adults, two hours in a low-oxygen chamber raises EPO
levels by 50%, and the effect disappears (as in mice) within a
few hours. The Russian manual indicates, by contrast, that
xenon's benefits last for days--as might be expected if they were
caused by the sort of Hif-1 alpha response seen in mice.

Whether xenon treatment will pass muster if and when WADA
scrutinises it remains to be seen--and will no doubt depend on
the finer points of the gas's biological action, many of which
are still muddy. In the meantime, sports trainers around the
world might be tempted to follow Russia's example, and reap
xenon's benefits before the regulators catch up.